Summer Sewing: Matcha Top in Italian Voile

How about if we squeeze one more summer sewing post in?  Partly because I like to be thorough and partly because I’ll forget what I did with this pattern (and probably that I made it once it’s packed away) if I don’t.  Sad, but true!  🙂

Today’s project is the sleeveless view of the Sew Liberated Matcha Top in a beautiful Italian cotton voile.  This fabric was a gift from Maggie at Pintuck & Purl, bought on a trip to Rome.  Fancy!  Therefore, it sat in my stash for awhile because I was saving it for just the right project.  I finally narrowed it down to the Matcha Top, which can be made sleeveless or with three-quarter-length sleeves.  I bought the paper pattern at Pintuck & Purl.

l

Initially, I was a bit surprised at the sizes my measurements put me at.  I’m often one size at the bust and the next size up or thereabouts for the waist and hips.  This pattern had me at an 8 bust, 16 waist, and 22 hip, which seemed pretty different than usual.  Obviously every pattern company is unique, but this was very different.  Luckily, the pattern book gives you tips for choosing a size that will give you the intended fit, which is fairly loose everywhere but at the shoulders.  In the directions, you are told how to measure your shoulders to get a good fit and to base your size off of that.  Thanks to these directions, I made a size 10.

l

l

There were only two fitting changes I made.  The first was to lower the armhole by two inches.  That meant that the armhole facings no longer matched, so I bound the armholes with bias tape, turning it inside so it wasn’t visible from the outside.

The second fitting change was to take a small tuck at the top back of each shoulder since it was gaping there.  I probably need some sort of forward shoulder adjustment in the future.

I also added piping at the shoulders so the shoulder details didn’t disappear.  I love how that turned out!

For seam finishes, I pressed my seams open, and then turned the seam allowances under and topstitched each down.  It makes me happy that this shirt looks almost as nice on the inside as it does on the outside; plus that seam finish will strengthen the seams.

One other bit of strengthening I did was to stitch horizontally under the bottom of the v-neck after doing the sewing that the directions dictated.

Before I knew it, I was finished with this top!

After completing it, I realized that I forgot to pattern match the center front seam!  I couldn’t believe it, but I wasn’t going back.  Hopefully I learned my lesson for next time, right?  😉

l

This was a really quick and satisfying sew, and in this soft and floaty voile, it makes an ideal summer top.  The directions were well-written, and the fact that there aren’t a ton of steps means you can take your time and do a really good job.  I’d love to try the sleeved version sometime!

And now…I think it’s time to sew for fall!